Palladium Books® Weekly Update – May 11, 2018

By Kevin Siembieda

One game system – every genre – countless worlds – endless adventure

Man, oh man, have we been busy. Besides recovering from the Palladium Open House (it seems like the older we get, the longer it takes to fully recover), dealing with a number of business matters, convention prep, and reaching out to Palladium creators, we have been putting the final wraps on RRT/Robotech® and figuring out where we go from here.

The obvious answer is diving back into what we know best: creating RPGs and sourcebooks that will knock your socks off. We have high hopes and many exciting ideas that I will share with you in upcoming Updates. At the moment, I’m making a list of all titles and plans already in the pipeline and assessing the best order of releases. We want to start a nice flow of releases.

I can tell you that getting the two Rifts® Bestiary titles done and getting caught up on The Rifter® are among our top priorities. You can also look forward to some Raw Preview Editions as well as a couple of PDF only titles on DriveThruRPG coming soon. Folks seem to enjoy the Raw Previews and we have gotten a number of requests for them at the Palladium Open House (POH) as well as before the POH and after. There is a lot of good stuff in the pipeline, so if you want ‘em as Raw Previews, we’ll make them available.

As for the 2018 Palladium Open House (POH), I’ve heard from a number of attendees and freelancers, and all report having a great time. Awesome. Us too. The POH is always a lot of fun and laughter. There were a few snags, and the prep for it was the most last-minute of any POH ever. Heck, we were shipping RRT Reward Exchanges right up to the morning of VIP Thursday! But it all came together thanks to the Herculean efforts of Kathy Simmons and helpers like Matthew Treml, the Brown Family, Tina, Joe, Doug and others. I tried to thank everyone in the last update.

2021 Open House – Palladium’s 40th Anniversary Bash

Assuming we are all around to host it, the next POH will be three years from now – April 2021 – to celebrate Palladium’s 40th Anniversary. Don’t tell us we didn’t give you enough advance notice on this one. And we plan to make it the biggest, most organized and fun Palladium Open House ever. So start making your plans. That includes our wonderful Game Masters, writers, artists, helpers and friends. Together, let’s make this the most fun and memorable blowout ever! You can thank Joe Bergmans for this POH and pointing out that a 40th anniversary event would be perfect. We agree.

More books coming for Rifts® for Savage Worlds®

I don’t know the intended release date (I suspect late 2018 or more likely early 2019), but Pinnacle Entertainment has sent me the next book in the series and some artwork to review for approval. And I get the impression there will be more to come. I’ve given it a quick glance over and it looks pretty good. I expect to give it a thorough read over this weekend.

Rifts®, Dead Reign® and plans for other books ...

We are as hungry to see new book releases as you are. And we plan to dive right into them. Wayne and I will be working on The Rifter® #80 and other issues to come out in rapid succession. I will also be working on the Rifts® Bestiary Vol. One & Two, as well as figuring out the exact order of new releases and getting artists working on new books.

New Raw Preview Editions of books coming soon

A number of people at the Palladium Open House asked that we release more Raw Preview Editions. These are the unedited, “raw” manuscripts before rewrites and additional material is added to the book. There is no artwork, just the untouched manuscript text. Raw Editions are usually limited to 120 or 150 advance copies and fans love them. Since so many people have been inquiring, I will see about releasing 2-4 soon.

Back in Stock Reminder

I’m especially happy that Wormwood™ is back in print. It is one of my favorite settings and is such a unique and bizarre world of horror, heroes, weird magic and mystery. This is one of the most exotic and dangerous worlds your characters may ever encounter. Wormwood is a mysterious living planet of unknown origin and purpose. It is presumed to be some sort of colony world and supports human life, but under the strangest conditions. It might be an idyllic environment if not for the corrupting “infections” that are the Unholy and his minions – demonic and monstrous creatures who battle for domination of the planet and its inhabitants. Created by comic book legends Timothy Truman and Flint Henry. Back in print after a long hiatus. See the full description below or in the online store.

The Rifter® #80

Getting caught up on issues of The Rifter® is a top priority. Both The Rifter® #80 and #81 are in the pipeline.

UPDATE: Rifts® Bestiary™: North America, Vol. One and Two

The Rifts® Bestiary™ Volume 1 and Volume 2 are our next two books. Probably summer releases. Both books gather and format the existing beasts from the current World Books and Sourcebooks, PLUS a good number of fun, new creatures and monsters to spice up your games, plus maps and more.

UPDATE: Dead Reign®: In the Face of Death™

Looking forward to this sourcebook about life and survival in the big cities during the Zombie Apocalypse. Rooftop living and more.

Four New T-shirts – Available now

We have four new T-shirts that will make a nice addition to your wardrobe (and hint at some things go come).

New Rifts® T-shirt is powerful and dynamic. It features a CS soldier firing his energy pistol. Is he friend or foe? You decide. It fits the current Rifts® story arc with the Minion War™ and most Rifts® and Coalition States themes. Art by comic book artist Freddie Williams II. Enjoy.

New Game Master T-shirt features the dynamic artwork of Kevin Long’s original Villains Unlimited cover. Why this art? A) Because G.M.s unleash the villains and challenges that await their players. B) Heroes Unlimited™ needs some loving. And C), because it is a dynamic piece of art that screams, “get ready for adventure.”

Heroes Unlimited™ T-shirt! You have been asking to see more for Heroes Unlimited™, we heard you and offer this striking T-shirt as just the beginning of more support for Heroes Unlimited™. It was certainly a hit at the Palladium Open House.

2018 Palladium Books® Open House T-shirt is fun and the favorite of many people. It features art by Ramon K. Perez. You did not have to be at the Open House in person to get this fun T-shirt. If you were there in spirit or just like the design, snap it up. Limited to 120 shirts. Available only while supplies last.

All T-shirts are high quality, pre-shrunk, 100% cotton Gildan T-shirts and look great. I love all four. Wore the POH, G.M. and Heroes Unlimited T-shirts during the event and I’m wearing the Rifts® shirt for inspiration as I write this.

Available in most sizes, Medium to 5XL, as usual.

$18.95 each for Medium to XL, $20.95 for XXL, and up for larger sizes.

The Rifter® #1-75. Each issue is a wealth of source material and ideas for several game lines, but most material can be easily adapted to ANY Palladium game world. Each issue a gem.

Splicers® RPG is like Iron Man meets Game of Thrones with elements of Terminator – except this army of Iron Men are clad in living body armor and wield living, organic weapons and devices. Created in 2004 by writer and game designer Carmen Bellaire, Splicers® was nominated for an Inquest Gamer Magazine Fan Awards Game of the Year, and has since developed a rabid fan base. Science fiction and horror where humans are forced to use genetically engineered, living weapons and organic war machines to battle an insane Artificial Intelligence and her robot legions. Unlike anything you have ever played before!

Palladium Fantasy RPG® first edition rule book and sourcebooks. 2nd edition sourcebooks to come. Not your father’s fantasy RPG, this is a unique world of magic, monsters and heroes. Many nonhuman player characters and 50,000 years of history.

Dead Reign® (Zombie Apocalypse) and sourcebooks. The dead have risen. It is the battle for survival in the zombie apocalypse, but this setting is much more than your typical zombie game. Play ordinary people or special characters better equipped to survive and hunt zombies. Many unusual types of zombies.

Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG. Supernatural horror in the modern world. Play ordinary people, psychics or paranormal investigators.

After the Bomb® RPG and sourcebooks. Planet of the Apes meets the X-Men! Animal creations, powers and more. Create any type of intelligent mutant animal you can imagine as friend or foe.

Sale on all Star Wars toys, as Alex and I continue to add Star Wars toys and a growing number of all kinds of collectibles – and we’ll be adding more Palladium Books original art and items to the store, so keep an eye out for them.

This includes one-of-a-kind original artwork, prints, Rifts® and Robotech® artwork by Kevin Long, me and others. There is also a range of limited editions, rare book titles and limited edition hardcovers, toys and more that are all being added to my online store over the next several weeks, so keep an eye out. Alex and I will keep adding items as our busy schedules allow, but we have a lot of fun collectibles available now and coming soon. Items include original art, out of print titles, redlined proofreader photocopies signed by me and the staff, signed manuscripts with editors’ corrections, some original art, hardcover books (including Rifts® Lemuria, Northern Gun™ One, Northern Gun™ Two, Megaverse® in Flames™, Beyond the Supernatural™ Gold, Rifts® Machinations of Doom™ Gold and Rifts® Ultimate Gold) and other items available. There are also hundreds of toys and action figures, all from my personal archives and collection. Take a look every weekend for new items added.

Closing Thoughts

We’ve got our noses to the grindstone to get new books into your hands as soon as we can. We’ll keep you updated as we go.

– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher Game Designer, Artist, Gamer

Back in Stock: Rifts® Dimension Book™ One: Wormwood™

Wormwood is a mysterious living planet of unknown origin and purpose. It is presumed to be some sort of colony world and supports human life, but under the strangest conditions. It might be an idyllic environment if not for the corrupting “infections” that are the Unholy and his minions – demonic and monstrous creatures who battle for domination of the planet and its inhabitants. So it is that humans and monsters, the good and the wicked are at constant war with one another. Epic adventure, horror and the supernatural. There is nothing quite like Wormwood in the Megaverse®.

The Good and the human are represented by the Cathedral. Its Champions of Light include warrior priests, monks, Wormspeakers (seers), Symbiotic Warriors, Knights of the Temple, Holy Terrors and the most powerful and heroic of them all, the legendary Apok.

The Wicked and the demonic are represented by the Unholy, Dark Priests and the demonic Dark Minions.

Home of Crawling Towers, Holy Terrors, Wormspeakers, Apoks the Avengers, and hordes of demonic monsters.

Back in Stock: Weapons and Assassins™

The weapons and secrets of real world, ancient assassins. Includes guilds and societies of assassins like the Order of the Assassins, Ninja and Thugs of India, as well as details about their weapons, tools, poisons, clothing, armor, methods and more. A fan favorite written by Erick Wujcik. Back in stock.

New! World Book 36: Rifts® Sovietski™ – Now Shipping!

Now shipping! And jam-packed with a wide array of source material. New cyborgs, new O.C.C.s, new skills, new D-Bees, new cyborgs and bionics, new weapons, new vehicles, underground bunker tables, tons of adventure ideas and a whole lot of fun.

The Sovietski faces danger from the high-tech but savage and ruthless Warlords of Russia, the expanding Brodkil invasion sponsored by Mindwerks and the Angel of Death, Werewolves in the north, Gargoyles spilling in from the west, and the coming of the Minion War.

Rifts® Sovietski™ is a treasure trove of new ideas for cyborgs, player characters, D-Bees, and the fledgling, Sovietski nation. This book brings the Russian landscape to life and ready for adventure. See how the Sovietski came into being and where it is going, learn about its soldiers, army, people and their dreams, beliefs, and politics, plus Dead Zones, Spetsnaz Intelligence force, new cyborgs, bionics, and more. When combined with the Rifts® Mindwerks™ Sourcebook, Warlords of Russia™, Mystic Russia™ and the Triax™ books, you have a setting as large as North America.

Rifts® Game Master Guide™ – If you are looking for more weapons and gear, this sourcebook contains every Rifts® robot, power armor, vehicle, weapon, experience table, map, and more that appeared in World Books 1-23 and Sourcebooks 1-4, plus O.C.C. and R.C.C. index, rules clarifications, and more. 352 pages.

New! Rifts® Bestiary™: North America, Vol. One

A series of books that collects all the notable monsters, dinosaurs and creepy crawlers and creatures of Rifts® North America (US, Canada and Mexico) into two juicy volumes with a number of new creatures. Each volume includes maps and new creatures, large and small, to help or plague player characters. Between them, these two volumes compile all the beasts of Rifts North America (unintelligent monsters, predators, notable animals and intelligent beings that are monstrous or animal-like in appearance or behavior) from all current World Books and Sourcebooks. In addition, Kevin Siembieda, Chuck Walton and Greg Diaczyk are adding some new monsters to make life in the wilderness interesting. Presented in alphabetical order, with maps showing their range and location, in two big books.

Winter releases, both volumes are being worked on simultaneously, right now, so that Volume Two will quickly follow Volume One within 4-6 weeks. Other volumes, like a Bestiary of Spirits and the Supernatural, are likely to follow.

Future volumes will include spirits, ghosts and entities, another on dragons, other volumes on creatures in other parts of Rifts Earth, and so on.

Monsters and animals of Rifts North America organized in two big, easy to use sourcebooks. Predators, exotic riding animals, beasts of burden, alien horrors, giant insects and more.

New! Rifts® Bestiary™: North America, Vol. Two

More monsters and exotic animals of Rifts® North America as part of an ongoing series of Rifts® Bestiary sourcebooks. The first two Rifts® Bestiaries are being created simultaneously. Between them, these two volumes compile all the beasts of Rifts North America (unintelligent monsters, predators, notable animals and intelligent beings that are monstrous or animal-like in appearance or behavior) from all current World Books and Sourcebooks, plus some new monsters by Siembieda and Walton. Presented in alphabetical order, with maps showing their range and location, in two big books.

Monsters and animals of Rifts North America organized in two big, easy to use sourcebooks. Predators, exotic riding animals, beasts of burden, alien horrors, giant insects and more.

New! The Rifter® #79 – Available now

The Rifter® #79 is all about pushing the envelope, trying new things and alternative methods, rules and approaches to create epic adventure! Role-playing games are all about expressions of your imagination. Of making ideas, characters and stories come to life. RPGs are flexible. Malleable. Alive and changing. There is no one way to look at things because there are infinite possibilities. This issue of The Rifter® explores some of those new possibilities.

Rifter® #79 Highlights:

Gaming Through History – any game setting. Do not sell history short. There are epic events, battles and mysteries throughout history that would make amazing RPG campaigns. Create adventures that are, in effect, parts of our unknown history. Hendrik Härterich shows you how with a wonderful set of guidelines, rules and ideas for using characters from just about any modern RPG to create settings and adventures from Earth’s past. Suitable for use with any Palladium RPG.

Rifts® – The Kingdom of New Oslo™ by David Collins. Explore the European Northlands and face the would-be god of Hell Hounds and Fenry. A monster that calls itself Fenrik. Oslo overview, notable people and places, vehicles, gear, and adventure ideas.

UPDATE: Rifts® Living Nowhere™ – A Rifts® Sourcebook set in the Pecos Empire

This title presents four interrelated towns off the beaten path in the Pecos Empire. Each with its own unique character and problems. All fun locations to visit and find adventure and trouble. Something dark and deadly is brewing in the middle of Nowhere, where experimental Techno-Wizard devices and weapons offer prosperity, but could be the doom of everyone living there. Big ideas. Building upon material that appeared in The Rifter®, expanded.

COMING! In the Face of Death™ – A Dead Reign® Sourcebook

This sourcebook is all about inner-city survival. Survivor colonies finding a way to live and prosper in the big city. Conventional wisdom says that living in the big population centers is impossible. These survivors prove otherwise.

UPDATE: Convention Calendar

Anime North – May 25-27, 2018 – Toronto, Canada

Charles Walton, Greg Diaczyk, Apollo Okamura, and I (Kevin Siembieda) will be present at the Palladium Books booth to chat and sign books. And maybe a few other Palladium writers and artists.

2018 Gen Con – August 2-5, 2018 – Indianapolis, Indiana

As noted earlier, we need Game Masters to submit their Palladium Gaming Event descriptions over the next few weeks. As with years past, please coordinate with NMI and the Megaversal Ambassadors to be part of the Palladium Books gaming block at Gen Con and to get listed in the onsite Gen Con Program Book (very important). Thank you.

The usual Palladium crew will be present at the Palladium booth to chat and sign books.